Jack Brickhouse

John Beasley Brickhouse (January 24, 1916 – August 6, 1998) was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1985, Brickhouse was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame along with the Voice of the Yankees Mel Allen and Red Sox Voice Curt Gowdy. Brickhouse served as the organization's Secretary/Treasurer and was a member of its board of directors.

Brickhouse also called Chicago White Sox games prior to that team leaving WGN in 1968. He covered national events from time to time, including three World Series for NBC television, although the Cubs never got there during his tenure. The voice on the audio track of the famous Willie Mays catch in Game 1 of the 1954 Series at the Polo Grounds belongs to Brickhouse, who was doing the Series along with the New York Giants' regular broadcaster, Russ Hodges. (Brickhouse had also called Giants games locally in 1946.) Brickhouse called the 1959 Series, which featured the White Sox with Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, and the 1950 Series with Jim Britt. In addition, Brickhouse partnered with fellow baseball broadcaster Mel Allen for NBC coverage of the 1952 Rose Bowl, and with Chris Schenkel for the network's coverage of NFL Championship Games in 1956 and 1963.

Brickhouse covered many other events in and outside of sports, such as professional wrestling for WGN and political conventions for the Mutual radio network. From 1953 to 1977 he was the voice of Chicago Bears football on WGN-AM radio, in an unlikely and entertaining pairing with the famous Chicago Sun-Times gossip columnist Irv Kupcinet. Brickhouse called Chicago Bulls basketball games for WGN-TV from 1966 until 1973, making him the voice of three of the major Chicago sports teams during that period. He was a boxing commentator as well. Fights he worked include the 1949 fight between Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles and the 1951 fight between Johnny Bratton and Charley Fusari.

Brickhouse was born in Peoria, Illinois, to Will and Daisy Brickhouse. His father died when Jack was two years old, and he was largely raised by his mother. He started his first job when he was only eleven, delivering the Peoria Journal and Peoria Star, and subsequently attended Peoria Manual High School.

He began his long broadcasting career at eighteen, at Peoria radio station WMBD in 1934. Chicago radio station WGN hired him in 1940 to broadcast Cubs and White Sox games, largely on the recommendation of their top announcer, Bob Elson. Brickhouse served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II. He announced White Sox games on WJJD in 1945 but missed the 1945 Cubs season, the only time during his broadcasting career that the Cubs would win the National League pennant. His was the first face seen when WGN-TV, Chicago's Channel 9, began broadcasting in 1948. His only pennant as a broadcaster was won by the White Sox in 1959, but neither the 1945 Cubs nor the 1959 Sox won the World Series.

Brickhouse broadcast both Cubs and White Sox games until 1967, because they almost never played at home on the same day. He retired in 1981.

Even in retirement, Brickhouse maintained a high profile as a Cubs and WGN ambassador. He occasionally returned to the booth for special events, such as Wrigley Field's annual "70's Night". He also guest-hosted with Harry Caray when the Cubs secured their first postseason berth in 39 years, as they clinched the 1984 National League Eastern Division title in Pittsburgh. The Cubs won the first two games of the League Championship Series at Wrigley, but lost three games to the Padres in San Diego, once again failing to win the pennant (1984 was the last year that the LCS was a best-of-five series).

Brickhouse hosted a weekly segment on WGN's local version of WCW Pro in the early 1990s called "Brickhouse's Bonus." In 1990, Brickhouse narrated the retrospective VHS tape, The Sporting News Presents Baseball in the 80's.